Speculation has been rife over which candidate the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) will back in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. Many political pundits believe that PDI-P will force popular Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini to run (against her previously stated wishes) against the incumbent, Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who has already earned the endorsement of three other political parties.
However, it now looks like there is a possibility that PDI-P may in fact choose to back Ahok as well, as indicated by the governor himself after he had a closed door meeting with PDI-P chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri and other top party officials yesterday.
“Essentially, the signal from Ibu Mega is that, of the available options, she is more likely to (support) the incumbent,” Ahok said at City Hall yesterday as quoted by Tempo.
The governor said that PDI-P was still considering possible candidates, which involves them going through a fit and proper test. However, Ahok said that Megawati told him he would not need to go through the test and that he would not need to register with PDI-P as he had already done so in 2012.
In terms of electability, it is certainly understandable why Megawati would want to stick with Ahok as he remains the most popular candidate in theoretical matchups against potential rivals such as Tri Rismaharini. If PDI-P decided to back Ahok, his victory would be almost assured.
However, there is still strong reason to doubt that PDI-P will choose the incumbent. For one, Megawati is known for being very controlling and not allowing her “party cadres” to step out of line. Ahok, on the other hand, is well known for speaking his mind, no matter the consequences.
There are also signs that Ahok would not exactly have the full support of PDI-P. Recently, a video has been making the rounds on social media showing members of PDI-P Jakarta singing “Ahok pasti tumbang” (Ahok will surely fall) at one of their meetings.
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